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House panel subpoenas Bannon in Russia probe showdown

In this Dec. 5, 2017, file photo, former White House strategist Steve Bannon speaks during a Senate hopeful Roy Moore campaign rally in Fairhope Ala. The House Intelligence Committee is poised to question Bannon, the onetime confidant to President Donald Trump, following his spectacular fall from power after accusing the president's son and others of "treasonous" behavior for taking a meeting with Russians during the 2016 campaign. Bannon is scheduled to testify before the panel on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018, according to a person familiar with the committee's plans. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)
In this Dec. 5, 2017, file photo, former White House strategist Steve Bannon speaks during a Senate hopeful Roy Moore campaign rally in Fairhope Ala. The House Intelligence Committee is poised to question Bannon, the onetime confidant to President Donald Trump, following his spectacular fall from power after accusing the president's son and others of "treasonous" behavior for taking a meeting with Russians during the 2016 campaign. Bannon is scheduled to testify before the panel on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018, according to a person familiar with the committee's plans. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File) In this Dec. 5, 2017, file photo, former White House strategist Steve Bannon speaks during a Senate hopeful Roy Moore campaign rally in Fairhope Ala. The House Intelligence Committee is poised to question Bannon, the onetime confidant to President Donald Trump, following his spectacular fall from power after accusing the president's son and others of "treasonous" behavior for taking a meeting with Russians during the 2016 campaign. Bannon is scheduled to testify before the panel on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018, according to a person familiar with the committee's plans. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

By Associated Press 4 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – The House Intelligence Committee subpoenaed former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon on Tuesday in a showdown over whether he could be forced to testify in the panel’s Russia investigation.

Bannon walked into a closed-door meeting with House members Tuesday morning and was still being grilled Tuesday evening. Lawmakers wanted answers from him about President Donald Trump’s thinking when he fired FBI Director James Comey.

The committee’s Republican chairman, Rep. Devin Nunes of California, said he issued the subpoena, but he declined to discuss why or what questions he hoped to compel Bannon to answer.

A person familiar with the subpoena said the committee issued the order after Bannon’s counsel advised him he did not have to answer lawmakers’ questions regarding his discussions with Trump. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private committee deliberations.

A spokeswoman for Bannon did not respond to multiple requests for comment Tuesday afternoon. A White House official said the White House did not seek to exert executive privilege over Bannon – a move that would have barred him from answering certain questions – because they didn’t have to. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.